


A Crinkle in Destiny

by KoiDragons



Series: Children of Pandora [1]
Category: Campione!
Genre: Always-a-girl!Godou, Even as a woman they have a harem, F/F, F/M, Her Name is Ran, M/M, More Gods, Multi, Some things stay the same, Some things... not so much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 05:12:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8698360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoiDragons/pseuds/KoiDragons
Summary: Destiny changes quite rapidly but in some ways stays the same when Godou is born female to the name Ran, her eyes a constant kaleidoscope of jewel colors. She grew up quite normal… then she encountered the Persian War God Verethragna. It started a horrible, horrible trend, because even as a woman Godou would still have a harem. (Fem!Godou)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Surprisingly not a crossover. My first regular fic in a while...

 

**Prologue - A Granddaughter Called Ran**

**Kusanagi Ichirou's** daughter Mayo finally goes into labor a week overdue in the darkest of night. Ichirou spends some of it clutching his wife Chiyo's hand worriedly. He can hear his daughter's pained, choked screams and see the worried looks exchanged by the doctors. Something is wrong.

His butt slowly goes numb in the crappy and uncomfortable plastic chair as he stares out the window, seeing the bright full moon as his foot taps shake his entire chair. After several hours of this he gets up, beginning to pace agitatedly.

Chiyo half heartedly scolds him, her green eyes dark and worried as well. Their daughter had been told it could have been a risky birth, but even their arrogant, prideful daughter had been too hyped with joy, just like they were, to consider if anything could go wrong.

As he feels the distinct and unwelcome helplessness, his anger turns to a scapegoat, his son-in-law.

"Where is he dammit? This is his firstborn! If he gives another meeting excuse-" He chokes off his rant, too angry to talk.

His son-in-law Genzou Saito was charming. Handsome. Rich. Suave. At first glimpse a wonderful son-in-law, able to provide for his family and a well to do business man you could brag about to your buddies.

But if you looked deeper you would see the things Ichirou had seen, something that had soured his relationship with the man.

He was a workaholic. To the point he would put his work before his wife and most likely now… His firstborn. He was so focused on climbing the ladder at his business to ignore family, something Ichirou wouldn't even _think of._

Besides… if his hunch was right… he wasn't loyal to his daughter either.

Another scream reached his ears and he grimaced, wanting nothing more than the baby to come out. His daughter was in pain, something was wrong, and by the gods above he wished it would just stop.

The door opened and it the cries grew louder for a moment before Takemoto-sensei closed it again. The stern looking man gave them a small smile. "You're daughter's in the final stages of labor. The baby's soon to crown."

His wife is unable to hide the relieved smile.

Ichirou turns for a second to squint at the wall, the time **6:55 AM.** The sun is already lightening the sky and while Ichirou could say something poetic, he was too relieved and tired to really think.

14 minutes later his first grandchild was born with soft cries he can hear from outside the room and his son-in-law is still absent. They enter a minute later. It's a bloody mess in the hospital room but his daughter is radiant, the bright green eyes she inherited from her mother sparkling.

Her soft smile fades slightly when she peers behind them. "Is Genzou here?" She asks almost softly, and Ichirou then decides the next time he sees his son-in-law he's going to punch him.

Mayo is visibly hurt by his absence, a rare sight considering his headstrong daughter _loathed_ looking weak, but that didn't make Ichirou or Chiyo for that matter any happier.

Mayo is almost paper pale, her skin covered in sweat. Ichirou can hear the doctor's planning a blood transfusion and seeing the blood soaked mess she have birth on, Ichirou would agree.

Mayo drifts off to sleep merely moments later, but not before sleepily mumbling that they can choose her baby's name.

Takemoto-sensei turns to them expectedly, cradling a small bundle swaddled in a soft yellow blanket.

"Is the baby…?"

Takemoto-sensei smiles. "She's a little small but appears perfectly healthy." He assures them, and Ichirou can feel a silly grin tug at his face, one mimicking the one his wife was holding.

Chiyo accepts their granddaughter ( _granddaughter!)_ with joy in her eyes and a nostalgic smile across her face.

Ichirou can understand. It had, after all been years since either had held an infant. Unfortunately an accident during Mayo's birth prevented them from having more, and after Mayo grew up past that age, well…

Ichirou peers into the bundle and falls in love, once more.

His grandaughter was tiny, tinier than Mayo when she had been born, but blessedly healthy. Already a soft puff of dark black hair crowned her head, though that would fall out and be replaced soon enough. Her skin was still wrinkled and slightly red from birth, but Ichirou thought she was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

"What should we name her?" Chiyo asks quietly.

Then the baby opened her eyes and both of them gasped.

Mayo had the normal blue eyes infants had. That had faded into the alluring green she had inherited from Chiyo.

This little one, on the contrary, seemed to be neither.

Soft amethyst purple eyes stared unblinking up at him and Ichirou knew what his granddaughter's name should be.

"Ran." Short for Orchid.

His wife clearly approved. After all, they were her favorite flower.

His wife gently passes Ran to him and heads to the doctor, ready to tell him her new name. With no else watching, only Ichirou sees his grandchild blink once, her eyes turning a vivid ruby, blink again, changing to a brilliant sapphire, then finally blink once more, her eyes back to an amethyst purple.

Ichirou immediately knows that he should call an old friend, Lucretia Zola, and quickly.

Meanwhile, the Divine Ancestor referred to as She-of-Kaleidoscope-Eyes pauses, emerald green turning east. "This One senses another child… a descendant of enough will to inherit this One's gifts…" Her lips curve into a small smile as her eyes flicker and glow, shifting to a beautiful onyx. "This One waits to see your potential, Beloved Orchid."

* * *

Ran is a week old when **Ichirou** places a beautiful, albeit simple locket around her neck. The necklace was specifically enchanted to hide Ran's strange kaleidoscope eyes. Lucretia's spells work, as neither of Ran's parents nor Chiyo move to take it off her, so Ichirou knows the spells that make it certain little Ran won't put it in her mouth will work too.

The soft yellow glow that occasionally flowed from the necklace only he notices reminds him of their conversation.

Last Thursday Lucretia in the dead of night had come to check on his granddaughter, and came back with some news.

"She has some Divine Ancestor in her family-tree." Lucretia states, looking incredibly serious. The fun loving woman he had become friends with had nary a smile on her face, her soft purple eyes darkened to a murky indigo. It only showed how significant this was.

"Divine Ancestors are fallen Earth Goddesses. All of them, even without their full divinity, will always be more powerful than we ordinary magicals will ever be."

"Occasionally, they'll have children. These bloodlines are born with incredible gifts, although they almost always only activate in a female descendant then a male. The ability to see into the future… channel the power of Gods… all of these powerful gifts examples of what can come from their bloodlines.

"Of these bloodlines, two types can be created. Witches and Hime-Miko. Witches are those that train in magic, using the large magical core they inherit to their advantage. I'm a good example of this. Hime-Miko are those that specifically train intheir inherited gift. You'll find those most common here. Thankfully, your granddaughter's gifts seem dormant. But I'll warn you anyways." Lucretia frowns.

"In Japan, the Magical Organization is the History Compilation Committee. They are more honorable than some magical organizations, but that does not mean they cannot be cruel when they want to be."

"There's are countless stories of bad things that can happen to Hime-Miko, especially one from an unknown bloodline like yours. Best and almost impossible case scenario: they train your daughter up as a solder. Worst cases could be arranged marriages to introduce new blood into the powerful families, or even offer her up for an alliance." Lucretia sighs.

"The necklace will hide the subtle things, like her eyes. But if she shows other signs you'll have to call me again." Lucretia states.

Then Lucretia smiles mischievously, a total whiplash from what she was before. The tension that had settled of them shattered. "I can't believe you got so old Ichirou." She states, looking almost disappointed.

Ichirou snorts, unable to hide the small smile. It seems she hadn't changed at all.

* * *

Ran is six years old when she gambles for the first time. The Kusanagi family knows true despair that day, as they watch the adorable little girl with her floppy sun hat and cheerful sundress merrily take away their money.

At first they were just humoring her. **Ichirou** had taken to telling her the finer parts of the game all the while glaring at anyone trying to mess her up, and Ran had listened intently, the scowl she had adopted as her 'Poker Face' looking more like a pout than anything.

The first two rounds they played with candy. Ran lost some and won some, and when they moved onto money Ran insisted she stay in the game, having 'known how to play now'. After that Ichirou could only watch with a sense of hilarity as Ran wins the round… then incredulity as she wins the next round, and the round after that.

It's hilarious the way his cousin collapses in disbelief when his granddaughter places down her newest hand.

"How is this even _possible?_ " He moans out.

Everyone knows she's not cheating, they checked after she won the first few times. But try as they might, it wasn't cheating, the only explanation being insane luck. Ichirou is torn is rewarding her because he and his cousin had never gotten along, or collapsing himself.

Six years without a single peep of magic and suddenly she's miraculously good at cards, to the point of _impossible luck?_ Looking at his granddaughter's face, adorably scrunched up with concentration, and Ichirou thinks that maybe, just maybe he can explain this away as some odd quirk of hers, if luck could be considered a quirk.

Later on, after she cleaned out everyone's wallets, Ichirou asks her what's her secret.

Ran perks up, wide purple eyes staring up at him. "Yuuki-sensei told me if you tried really, _really_ hard at what you're doing, you're bound to succeed!" She exclaimed and Ichirou pauses, before huffing with laughter despite his granddaughter's anger, as she smacks his shoulder with her cheeks angrily puffed.

* * *

After the "Gambling" incident which led to the seasonal family gathering tournament to defeat Ran, things took a turn for the worst between his daughter and son-in-law.

 **Ichirou's** hunch was right. His son-in-law was seeing a woman he worked with and his daughter set out to make his life utter hell because of it. His granddaughters, Ran and Shizuka, were trapped in the middle.

More often than not Ran would call them using the phone, and they would hear screaming in the background, causing one of them to pick up their granddaughters. They would stay multiple days with them after that, at least until Mayo turns up looking guilty. It was rough on both kids, Ichirou knew.

Shizuka was seven years old and Ran was nine, far too young to be pulled into such a mess. But neither parent cared, and often Ran or Shizuka would start an argument simply because of an ill placed word. After another incident where Shizuka came crying and Ran blank, they decided it would be better off that the two lived with them.

Chiyo took every moment she could do something that would distract Ran and Shizuka. And today was… cooking.

Chiyo had not been amused when one of Ran's hobbies became gambling. What if her luck turned for the worst and she was stuck addicted?

Chiyo a week before tried to introduce Ran to cleaning. She explained it away as something that helped get rid of stress, and the two girls, too young to realize she was trying to manipulate chores into a hobby, happily accepted. Needless to say, it didn't go as planned.

Shizuka was perfect. She cleaned and sang while she was doing it, or danced to music while cleaning. The only problem was… Ran. He discovered another quirk that day.

Ran was able to wash dishes. But that was it. Everything else was struck, she couldn't even complete the simplest cleaning duty because of her strange clumsiness while doing it. She knocked over the lamppost and broke the lightbulb across the floor while trying to dust it, accidentally dyed Shizuka's clothing green from doing the laundry _somehow,_ because the mix she put in there shouldn't have resulted in such a color, and got mud all over the floor mopping it.

After Ran's repeatedly failed attempts Chiyo moved on to cooking and hoped it wouldn't be as bad.

"Don't forget, salt and sugar look similar to each other, but by mixing them up you could ruin the entire dish." Shizuka and Ran's eyes were focused as they listened to Chiyo, each dressed in cheerful albeit oversized apron. It made an adorable picture and Ichirou hurried back with a camera to catch this moment.

"Sugars in pancakes!" Shizuka exclaims happily, bouncing on her feet. Ran immediately looked interested as well as and Ichirou almost snorted. Both girls had a fondness for the European breakfast, so much so Chiyo made it every other day.

As Chiyo begun to pull out the ingredients for it, showing each girl how to measure properly, Ichirou smiled. They were going to do alright, they had Chiyo and himself to watch over them.

* * *

Ran is ten years old when she requests to learn Kendo. Mayo, having divorced her husband by then and gained custody of her children, refused at first. It is only through **Ichirou's** interference that she is even able to pick up learn at all.

Ran takes to kendo like a duck would water. Her teacher Katsumi-shishou, a slight but skilled woman, was delighted to have such a talented and dedicated student. Chiyo and Ichirou are proud of her for gaining an acceptable 'exercise' hobby.

It helps that Ran is having the time of her life.

Ran loved kendo. Her passion for it was immense, and her dedication overwhelming. She commits several hours a day for training and her stamina and skill grows with leaps and bounds. It was only when she told him something one day did he realize that perhaps her skill was related to her magic.

"Why do you insist on buying used bokken? Surely you would prefer a newly made one?" Ichirou asks. Ran, for a strange reason, insists on buying a new bokken each year, setting aside the one she had used reverently into a box under her bed.

"Used bokken have memories. Using them I can feel all of the feeling of the past users… their small triumphs, defeats, and victories!" Normally someone would take that as a sign of Ran's whimsiness, but Ichirou knew his granddaughter's heritage and wondered.

Could she truly feel the past memories contained with a sword like a sort of empath?

* * *

Ran is 13 years old with several tournament championships under her belt when she wishes to start a garden. It hurts in a way, his wife Chiyo had merely died a year and a half ago, and she had loved her garden. But looking at the disrepair his beloved's garden has fallen into made him guilty.

In between kendo practice and school, Ran pulled out weeds, planted new plant, and quickly gained a semblance of order over the garden. Shizuka and **Ichirou** helped her out at times, but Shizuka was busy with her volleyball club and other extracurricular activities and it was emotionally painful for Ichirou.

It is only a month later does Ichirou glance into the garden and realize how different it is.

Plants spring up in a way it shouldn't be possible, flowers already budding in the early spring. While everyone's gardens are still dead and cold from chill, theirs is vibrantly green. Ichirou endures questions and compliments from the neighbors as Ran continues her work in the garden.

It makes him happy she's enjoying herself.

* * *

Ran is 15 years old and two fights from the National Championship Finals when a spiteful opponent injures her shoulder. Ran is cut from the Finals merely two fights away and the prognosis from the doctor is grim - Ran will never be able to do kendo again. The opponent gains a ban from kendo and has legal actions put against him, but **Ichirou** is more worried about Ran.

Ran's always loved Kendo. And she cannot do it anymore.

It devastates her on another level, and not only does she have to endure physical therapy, any attempt at running through a kata leaves her collapsed with weakness. For the first time in a long time he witnesses his granddaughter weep, crying tears of frustration and grief.

In between her hospital stay she keeps to her garden or in the kitchen, always doing one thing or another. Shizuka is distraught over the change of her sister and Ichirou won't deny his concern. She eats, she goes to physical therapy, she goes to school, but she isn't _living._

Ichirou had taken her out shopping when they had entered a small craft store and Ran stopped momentarily. Her eyes were wide and almost focused, her gaze centered on a decoration on the wall. Ichirou could understand why.

It was a painting.

Immediately Ichirou knew it had been hand painted.

It was a scene out of a Fairytale. The sky was caught in the sunset, the clouds and sky shades of golds, pinks, and purples, and red. Chinese dragons were almost dancing through the clouds, each chasing the mythical bǎozhū so renowned in mythology.

"Ah, that's our "Sky Dance" painting. It's pretty, isn't it." A woman remarked behind them.

Ichirou and Ran turn around, seeing a slight woman in her later forties, her black hair neatly speckled with gray hairs. Looking at her hands Ichirou sees several paint stains, and evidentfully, so does Ran.

"Did you make this?" Ran asks.

The woman nods. "Yes, it's one of my favorite pieces." She states.

Ichirou and the woman proceeds to gape when Ran immediately gets down on her hand and knees. "Please teach me!" Ran cries out, in proper dogeza position.

The woman looks weirded out and Ichirou feels his face flush with second-hand embarrassment.

"A-Alright, just stop bowing!" She flails, and Ran hopes up, her eyes sparkling. Ichirou's embarrassment fades when he realizes just what Ran had done.

It seems Ran had picked up more of his manipulation skills than he thought. To think she would fluster someone into accepting her as their student…

* * *

**Ichirou** stares at his granddaughter, beyond shocked and thankful Shizuka was unable to come.

Ran had signed up for a cooking competition awhile back, and Ichirou, like most events, had come to support her. He had thought it was a normal cooking competition, honest to gods. He had not expected it to be this terrifying or that it was actually taken seriously.

It was like a slug fest with saboteurs and backstabbers.

They was at least 300 girls here and he watched as 15 were dismissed in the first thirty minutes for undermining other girls works. He had counted at least _five_ different attempts to sabotage his granddaughter, all of which backfired rather nastily on the saboteurs.

But while he was humorously horrified by all of the civilized backstabbing going on, his attention was one his granddaughter.

People without a gift in magic could not see magical creatures or magical occurrences. So no one but himself noticed the golden battle aura that flanked his granddaughter, forming into a dragon that snaked around her and hissed at the competitors.

But the problem was that while people couldn't see it, they could definitely _feel_ it. The competitors were organized into rows and Ran had an entire row that was meant to fill twenty people all to herself. Everyone else had been scared off.

Ichirou just hoped it would keep someone from noticing her hair moving without any wind to move it. It was slight and the aura wasn't completely activated, but if they came any nearer someone might observe it.

Three hours later Ichirou weakly smiled at Ran as she clutches her first place trophy in her hand. She is the very essence of a good winner, at least to everyone but Ichirou. Ichirou could see the smugness radiating off the dragon and battle aura as it disappears back into her body.

"Thank you for coming to this with me, Oji-san." Ran thanks, her glittering amethyst eyes shining.

"..." Ichirou really needed to talk to Lucretia.

* * *

Ran is 16 years old and it the incidents have been occurring since her birthday. After another Battle Aura incident, Ichirou decides it is time for Ran to get another check-up from Lucretia. His granddaughter's gifts seem to be waking up and Ichirou hopes his old friend can help his granddaughter.

Then came along the perfect opportunity.

His old friend Lucretia needed her old grimoire back.

His granddaughter could deliver it and while there, be checked over by Lucretia.

He just hoped Lucretia would be able to help her.

* * *

"Nee-chan, were you up all night painting?" **Ran's** sleepy ears barely hear her sister's exasperated sigh. "Nee-chan you knew you were going to be flying today!" Her sister exclaims and Ran can't stop her as she yanks the covers off of Ran.

Ran groans and hides her head under her pillow, grimacing.

Ran was usually a morning person. Honestly. After five minutes of waking up she would cheerful and ready to tackle her day. But that was the Ran who had gotten an appropriate amount of sleep. Ran didn't know the time she had gone to sleep last night but considering her eyes felt _awful,_ she was probably running on maybe four hours of sleep.

"And you're fingers are still covered in paint! Nee-chan, you have to wash it off while it's wet or it'll take forever to get off your skin!" Ran finally rolls of the bed, blearily eyed but awake. She was going on a plane to Italy today to deliver something to her grandpa's old friend, she remembered.

"I'm up Shizuka." She rasps and Shizuka takes a look at the bags under her eyes and sighs. "I'll get you some makeup to cover it up." Shizuka states and Ran nods. While Shizuka leaves to retrieve makeup from her she stumbles into her bathroom, scrubbing and peeling the dried paints off of her hands.

Ran pulls her hair out of it's customary sleeping braid immediately after, already stripping and putting on the outfit she had prepared the day before. It's relatively simple, a nice shirt and pants she can move in. Shizuka had tried to dump a dress on her but Ran didn't want to walk through Italy in highheels.

She closes her eyes for a moment and feels an intense urge to go back to sleep and curses herself. She knew she was going to Italy today and she _had_ to stay up. She didn't even remember just what she stayed up for, though she knew it was a painting.

She really had to stop pulling her late-night paintings. It always ended with her not remembering what she painted and feeling awful in the morning.

While still angry at herself, she wondered what inspiration could have kept her up all night.

The painting lay near her closet, held up on an easel. A small sheet was placed over it and Ran pulls it off, blinking then flushing with embarrassment when she sees just what she painted. Behind her, she heard Shizuka gasp.

"Oh, he's handsome. Does Nee-chan have a secret crush?" The teasing edge made her pink cheeks darken a shade.

"I-I don't know him!" She exclaims, which in hindsight made it look worse, but it was the truth.

The boy looked to be around her age. He had shoulder-length dark blue almost purple hair, and his eyes were a bright green. A strange golden marking adorned his forehead, like a tattoo or decoration. He wore strange clothing, as if from ancient times when cloaks were still a thing.

She blinks when she sees the odd title she gave it. It was strangely not within a language she recognized.

_**Vərəθraγna.** _

How odd.

"Ran, you've only got an hour and a half to get to the airport!" Her grandpa shouts and motivates Ran back into action. She would miss her flight if she didn't hurry!

* * *

**She-of-Kaleidoscope-Eyes** peers down at Rome with a sense of distaste. She can sense the Persian War God Verethragna, shattered as he is, moving about, his varying Authorities seeking to wreak havoc. The God was as foolish and fight hungry as ever, seeing as Melqart had been summoned to the physical world.

As a Divine Ancestor she could not interfere, but to her silent worry she can feel her closest descendant, the beloved Orchid, nearing. She is carrying with her an object of incredible power and to her unease she cannot peer into her descendant's future.

She-of-Kaleidoscope-Eyes thinks that perhaps she may be able to misdirect her, but a sense from her prophetic gift warns her of the bad idea it was.

"This One shall wait and watch to see the fate of the beloved Orchid." She whispers into the summer air.

She prays she shall not lose another one of her _true_ children so soon, just as her inherited gifts are finally stirring from the predetermined slumber all of her children had.

Kusanagi Ran exits the airplane and wonders why on Earth her grandfather had the idea to send her to Italy despite knowing she didn't speak Italian. It had only been through honest luck that Erica, a new acquaintance of hers, had offered to come guide her after hearing she was going to Lucretia Zola's.

The gorgeous blonde leads her out of the busy airport and Ran hurriedly follows.

For some reason, her instincts are warning her of something. But Ran, who has never been out of Japan, ignores it in favor of absorbing Italy with wide eyes.

* * *

**Despite** a difference in destiny, some things still remain the same. A blonde knight called Erica overhears Kusanagi Shizuka and offers to escort Kusanagi Ran to Italy. It is an escort mission in Erica's mind, with the added bonus of meeting _the_ Lucretia Zola, called the Scholar of the Gods.

Kusanagi Ran still has the Prometheus grimoire within her care, and by all matters was oblivious to the world of Magic.

The Heretic God Verethragna still descends down to the physical world and Lucretia witnesses the clash between the Persian War God and another Heretic God, Melqart. Verethragna's Authorities separate from one another, and the Youth becomes temporarily amnesiac due to battle.

The Goddess Athena scoffs as she spectates the acts of Verethragna, but pauses when she feels a change in the wind.

Because while some things remain the same, others warp.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> The name Ran is female, and can mean Lily or Orchid, the more common meaning being Orchid. I chose is because I looked into female Japanese names and couldn't really find a G name I liked... and because I couldn't, to my frustration, find the meaning of Godou's name. Some people do think it is a play on the word "God" though.
> 
> I was surprised to note there was not any genderbenders I could find, but to my sadness although Campione! is a wonderful anime, not many people are writing fanfictions about it.
> 
> 12/1/16 - This is the revised and extended version of the prologue.


End file.
